A BOY
I saw him first in Arkansas and he made my cheeks turn pink.
I wish I could’ve been a fly to know how he feels of me.
Does he feel the same way I do?
It’s 2012 and now I know it isn’t true.
I saw the hearts in my eyes but unfortunately he did not.
When I’m with him I can’t move, it’s like the floor is slippery.
I’m still in Arkansas as my cheeks are now blue instead of pink.
I’ll never forget the feeling though until I turn to dust.
Madison Unlig
Overcoming Shame with a Box
I shut myself out from all the others
To my lonely world of quiet
No one will fine me here.
I can sit here listening to my breathing and steady
heartbeat in calming silence,
until they forget what I have done.
Erica Linzey
King of Nowhere
He pulled up in my yard on his brand new mule.
His deer calls thumped each other as he rose out
of his seat. I invited him in and he grinned,
showing me his tobacco stained teeth. He took
off his boots before strolling inside the house.
As he stepped inside, he took off his thick camo
coat and stopped to take in the smell of gumbo
on the stove. After he ate with us, he visited with my
dad and he helped fix the boat my dad was working on.
Then he climbed into his mule and we waved as he pulled out of our yard and headed off into the woods.
Darcy Collins
Untitled
Arkansas, home to the red Razorbacks.
This state has too many mosquitoes.
Have you ever been to a Razorback game?
This year in 2012 they are not very good
they seem to not now how to throw the brown oval.
And when the fields are slippery, it’s not in their advantage
I will always love Arkansas and the red Razorbacks
Even though their team is left behind in the dust.
Charley Tanner
Inside a Phone
I would love to be inside my phone
to see all the pictures
and hear all the music like a concert
to watch all the shows like a movie
to play all the games like in real life.
Katy B.
Teenage Frog
Making my home with yarn.
Eating small things.
Running for cover behind a black wall.
Seeing the world with more than two eyes.
Emery Morales
Untitled
Grey clouds loom over Maine
Flies swarm with agitation
Can you feel the tension?
The 1990 car
Carefully moves along the rectangular road
Rain makes the roads slippery
Grey clouds loom over Maine
No cars behind can eat its dust.
Jennifer Nguyen
Mayflower, AR
The signs have bullet holes.
The roads are in bad shape.
People don’t take care of their yards.
There are lots of stray dogs.
The population is growing fast,
there for it is crowded.
But disregard all of that,
we are all one family.
Rachel Honeycutt
Untitled
Anger sounds like a racecar
engine roaring in the distance
It smells like a burning stove
emitting smoke all through the
house
It tastes like raw onions, bitter and
will cause you to cry
It feels like fire, burning you
from the inside.
It looks like a volcano, ready
to blow.
Emily Egle
Ninth Grade Scorpion
Runs to the store to get milk.
Writes with his feet.
Kills fish with his hook.
Points to fat babies.
Spills orange soda everywhere.
Kicks pens at snakes.
Jumps off beds for fun.
Anonymous
Mother
To-be mother in the mother’s state — Virginia green and white
young luna moth with her delicate wings
Did you know of me?
68 your first breath, 98 was never mine
two rubix cubes, and square am I
locked inside these color patterns a slippery deception
back to Virginia, wearing green and white in the country’s cradle
did you think that I would be nothing ever but dust?
Sophie R.
Olive, Mississippi
The steep roads come to a stop as the green grass keeps living
free and wild, children laughing and screaming across the pile of houses,
the coolness of the breeze hitting your face
as the parents yelling and cheering at the TV,
while the flowers are blooming and the bees are buzzing.
The glare from the sun blocking the driver’s eyes
as you hear your mom and dad screaming for you to come inside for bed.
Taylor Flowers
Mount St. Mary Academy
Little Rock, AR
Date of Visit: September 2012
Faculty Sponsor: Maureen Stover
Grade Level: 9
Appx. Number Students Served: 300
Visiting Writers: Kaj Anderson-Bauer, Adrian McBride, Josh Peterson, and Scott Ray